Jordan - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Jordan

May 17, 2025

Amman 7:00 pm

32°C

Smoke billows near a military hospital in Harasta, northeast Damascus, following Israeli airstrikes across Syria overnight on May 3, 2025.

Jordan, Turkey, Syria FMs slam 'Israeli expansionism' after Ankara meeting

Jordanian, Turkish and Syrian top diplomats have criticized Israeli attacks on Syria.

Jordanian King Abdullah II meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Analysis

Jordan Muslim Brotherhood ban setback for Islamists but holds risks for Amman

The populist Islamist movement had increasingly challenged the government since the start of the Gaza war.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

In this Dec. 10, 2020, photo released by the Royal Hashemite Court, Jordan's King Abdullah II gives a speech during the inauguration of the 19th parliament's non-ordinary session, in Amman, Jordan.

Jordan bans Muslim Brotherhood: Here's what to know about the group

The Muslim Brotherhood, which calls for the Islamization of society, is popular throughout parts of the Arab world but has been banned by several countries in the region.

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images

Jordan bans Muslim Brotherhood as king visits Saudi Arabia

The decision follows an alleged plot against Jordan that authorities said was linked to the Islamist organization.

Latest News

Jordan foils 'sabotage' plot involving rockets and drones, 16 arrested

A picture taken during a tour organized by the Jordanian Army shows a drone flying over an observation post along the border with Syria, on Feb. 17, 2022.

Israeli incursion into southern Syria kills 6 as Jordan condemns: What we know

Salah Malkawi/Getty Images

Four accused smugglers killed on Jordan-Syria border: What we know

A picture taken during a tour organized by the Jordanian Army shows soldiers patrolling along the border with Syria to prevent trafficking, on Feb. 17, 2022.

Jordan’s king hosts Sharaa amid Israeli escalation in Syria

King Abdullah and Sharaa

Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Jordanian King Abdullah II as he departs the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Analysis

As Trump’s aid freeze tests Jordan’s economic stability, can Gulf and China offer lifeline?

The tensions created by the American president pressing Jordan to accept forcibly displaced Palestinians could lead Amman to boost ties with US rival China, Europe and others.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Jordan’s dependence on US foreign aid puts king in bind

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

President Donald Trump and Jordan's King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein shake hands during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, on Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington.

Trump backs off aid threat to Jordan but insists on Gaza takeover

President Donald Trump cited “US authority” to claim the Gaza Strip and send its population to Jordan and other neighboring countries.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with King Abdullah II during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on June 25, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Analysis

As Jordan's king arrives in US, Trump's Gaza plan sparks alarm at home

Jordanians fear Trump’s proposal to remove Palestinians from Gaza could lead to a national crisis.

Aaron Magid

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) speaks during a joint press conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R), Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2023.

Turkey, Jordan, Iraq to hold first anti-ISIS summit this month: Turkish official

Top diplomats as well as Turkish, Jordanian, Syrian and Iraqi defense and intelligence chiefs aim to hold a first security summit this month as part of efforts to set up a regional anti-ISIS coalition, Al-Monitor has learned.

U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

From Saudi Arabia to Australia and China, world leaders denounce Trump’s plan to 'take over' Gaza

President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about a possible US takeover of Gaza after relocating the Palestinians caused a wave of uproar across the region and the world.

A handout showing Ahmed al-Sharaa while meeting with a UK delegation in Damascus, Dec. 17, 2024.

UAE, Saudi Arabia congratulate Sharaa as Jordan resumes Syria flights

Arab leaders have warmly welcomed Ahmed al-Sharaa as Syria's interim president, with close allies of his deposed predecessor remaining noncommittal.

A picture taken on July 15, 2021, shows an abandoned Israeli army post in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank near the border with Jordan (background). - As scientific warnings of dire climate change-induced drought grow, many in Israel and Jordan cast worried eyes at the river running between them and the critical but limited resources they share. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel sees surge in Iran weapons smuggling to West Bank via Jordan

With its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria all but paralyzed, Iran is encouraging a Palestinian uprising against Israel in the West Bank.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party, in Damascus, on Dec. 22, 2024.

From UK to Jordan: Delegations pour into Damascus, meet Syria's al-Sharaa

Officials from the Arab world, Turkey, the US and Europe have sent delegations to Syria since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

Salah Malkawi/Getty Images

Syria's crossing with Jordan reopens as Israeli military takes position in south

Jordanian and Syrian trucks are once again using the only border crossing between the two countries as Israeli troops take position in a buffer zone and European diplomats engage with the new authorities in Syria.

The International Criminal Court

Germany reluctant to arrest Netanyahu after ICC warrant as France, Canada commit to uphold

The International Criminal Court on Thursday announced arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.

People wave Palestinian and Jordanian flags and chant slogans as they march during a demonstration near the US embassy in the capital Amman in solidarity with the people of Gaza on December 15, 2023, amid the continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP) (Photo by KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite Israel's war in Gaza, Jordan stability holds & security forces' grip firm

Not a single Jordanian has died in anti-Israel protests, and the Hashemite Kingdom’s security forces have remained loyal to King Abdullah II.

Aaron Magid